Quacklady going CaveWoman !!!

Hi everyone... Happy New Year !!
Starting Primal today and hopefully will become my lifestyle from this point forward.
I have all of the same ailments, complaints, stories that most have from being over-weight.

I personally have gotten fed up and annoyed with myself for pushing my body to this point.
I consciously did this to myself. I knew I was gaining weight and thought to myself, how long before my knees hurt, till I can't play tennis anymore, till I can't stand how I look anymore, till I don't fit into any of my clothes anymore.

I give a lot of credit to the people in my life who have NOT said anything to me regarding my study weight gain over the last 3 years. The one person who did, my husband, got his head bitten off...

Little by little, I have been screwing with myself. for whatever reason, I sudden;y feel it is time to do something. It may have been that I took one look in the mirror and saw myself looking like my older sister, who I really kind of despise. That could have been it. Or just the fact that I get up in the morning and my feet hurt, my hips hurt....
I ache because of the extra weight.

So, I figured being of sound mind, I would make a lifestyle change to better myself, before all of the diseases that come with obesity caught up with me.

A little about me. I am 45. 5'10 285 lbs. Size 20 --- play tennis 4-5 times a week. I carry my weight well and can still hoof it across a court, but honestly, I am really starting to feel it at home afterwards....
My energy is no where that it should be and quite honestly, I disgust myself with no clothes on. Haven't had any real physical relationship with hubby in a while, which originated from other issues, but now has gone on because of my own body issues.

Looking for some support....gentle and stern. Admittedly, I am lazy. I retired 10 years ago from a HIGH STRESS job and have been living off of the cream ever since... Time to become accountable again. I have a friend who is going PALEO as well and hopefully I will be able to get some support from her....but I think this forum will be m savior somehow.

Hi Judy
And thanks....First day....so far...breakfast was 2 eggs scrambled with roasted red peppers fried in clarified butter..coffee with agave and teaspoon of heavy cream....
lunch was a broiled hamburger with a huge salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic...
dinner was the coconut chicken...was tasty....but what a pain to make.....more salad. Had an apple and a handful of almonds as a snack mid afternoon. My slip up was using sweetened coconut.... never knew there were 2 different ones kinds....live and learn.
Have a bit of a headache now....but nothing major. Gonna have some herbal mint tea iced in a bit...I couldn't give up the coffee. Just quit drinking and smoking...need my vice !!!!
Will check back in tomorrow. did major shopping today and major giving away of pantry items not paleo friendly...

So are you doing dairy and are you doing "natural" sugars? Are you going to cut yourself off strict and fast or work your way into it? Are you doing nightshades? You have some decisions to make.

Are you addicted to sugar or do you just over-eat? If you're addicted to sugar then cut the sugars and up the fat content. (Including the apple - sub it out for an avocado.)

If you just overeat then that menu looks pretty decent. Since you're self-admittedly lazy, don't spend time fixing a dinner that is only going to feed you one meal (coconut chicken that was a pain to make). If you're going to do it, make 3 meals worth! Lots of PB meals are a pain to make, but there are lots of meals on this forum that are essentially a crock-pot or assembly meals. Go for the easy stuff so you don't burn yourself out on the fancy stuff.

I'm not addicted to sugar...much the opposite....I just have a big ole appetite. I much prefer pizza over cake and cookies...
I suffered from portion distortion ----
I made a bunch of the coconut chicken...some for tomorrow as well....it was just messy.
Im really looking forward to finding the crockpot meals....love my crockpot..
Planning on a slow roasted roast beef tomorrow night....I really can do this program and for the most part, love the idea of grilled meats and fish with veggies/salads.
I wasn't planning on too much dairy....just a shot of cream in the java in the morning....otherwise....none....
I was using stevia in my coffee for the past year but someone suggested I try agave. Will give it a shot..
Nightshades ? Like black-out curtains ? or is that code for somethng else ?

I do have trouble with agave. A lil squirt becomes a bigger squirt and on the third day you've used half the bottle! I don't know the solution, though, I have the same problem with maple syrup. Had some success with the raw honey that's semi-solid because you can see how much you're getting easier.

As far as portion distortion goes - you will be amazed how not-hungry you are after a few days of decent meals! I never ever never skipped a meal until I started primal (and I'm not even very good at being primal - you can read my journal) and now I skip lunch or breakfast regularly! Dropping grains helps immensely with the gobbledeys as well.

I must confess that I enjoy cooking, but even so, most of my meals are slow roasted or slow cooked (crockpot).
I also find it easier to make double portions and freeze some for 'instant' meals, mostly stews and soups.

The portion distortion thing, makes a lot of sense to me. Savouries in particular, since I've never had a sweet tooth. As Sarasue said, looks like removing cereals/sugar and upping fat would suit you.

Hi and welcome. Thanks for visiting my journal page The thing that I have gathered from lots of reading is that sugar and carbs distort the appetite, so that sometimes your body is wishy washy about whether or not it is hungry. So we eat. Pizza has loads of sugar---first the crust and second the tomato sauce---unless it is a home made pizza, then the tomato sauce might not.

I don't have lots to contribute since this is my first week too and so I won't go on. I do wish you the best in this journey and hopefully I'll see you lots along the way! We need all the support that we can get eh?

Addendum---I am also learning as far as what foods have in them and such (i.e. your sweetened vs. unsweetened coconut. It will probably take a little while to get all of that figured out. I believe that is totally normal!

Ok...so this morning.....and a good morning to all --- started off with some coffee...with heavy cream (tablespoon) and literally 1 teaspoon of AGAVE. It was sweet enough.....just that little bit. So if it is better for me than the STEVIA I was using then YAY for me. Should be an easy switch. I think my biggest issue will be getting in all of the veggies. I made a run to COSTCO yesterday and purchased meats and veggies and some fruit (blueberries), frozen berries and frozen strawberries. I was thinking in the am with some protien, a fruit/veggie smoothie...I have an emulcifier blender....that just mashes everything up you put near it. Was thinking carrots, spinach, berries, apples....water....and there you go....if I put chia seeds or hemp or some nuts in it, I could forgo the eggs/meat protien source...
Mind is starting to think paleo....
Still annoyed about the sweetened coconut....how did I miss that. Where does one find unsweetened ? ....anyway...I have some tilapia filets ready for this afternoon and a nice roast beef for tonight....Huge tossed salads will accompany both. Waiting for the bag of avocados I bought to soften a bit. Cut one in half last night and squirted lemon juice on it as a snack...was good....but not totally ripe yet. Purchased walnuts and almonds as well. Will check back in later....
Thanks for the encouraging words everyone. I know it's a process to change one's lifestyle, especially eating as it has many social connections. I am actually beginning to think that although it may take me longer to lose all of the weight I want, to....that this in fact is the journey I am meant to be on....